[Report 1945] / Medical Officer of Health, Buckinghamshire County Council.

  • Buckinghamshire (England). County Council. n 50052973.
Date:
1945
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1945] / Medical Officer of Health, Buckinghamshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    SECTION B GENERAL PROVISION OF HEALTH SERVICES (j) LABORATORY FACILITIES. There has been no important change in the laboratory arrangements during the year, details of which were set out in the Report for 1940. (ii) AMBULANCE FACILITIES. The transport facilities referred to in the Report for 1940 have remained substantially the same. In certain instances the W.V.S. organisation has co-operated in this service, and Civil Defence ambulances have been extensively used in certain areas. A Committee to consider the question of ambulance services generally has been convened, including members of the British Red Cross, St. John Ambulance Brigade, the Regional Hospitals Council, Local Authorities and certain other interested bodies. It is hoped that the Committee will produce a complete ambulance scheme for the County. {Hi) HOSPITAL FACILITIES. The Regional Hospitals Council is preparing reports by Committees dealing with INIaternity Services, the Cancer Scheme and general hospital provision within the area. The County Council is also preparing a scheme on this section of their activities, and every effort has been made to ensure that the findings of these Committees will be capable of fairly easy amalgamation. There is no doubt that having two Committees of this type working within the area is valuable, inasmuch as their viewpoints are slightly different, and no doubt the final composite scheme will show greater imagination and scope than a scheme prepared by either body independently. {iv) PUBLIC ASSISTANCE INSTITUTIONS. The following statement shows the number of sick persons chargeable to the County through the Public Assistance Committee on 31st March, 1946. Men. Women. Children. Total. County Institutions 187 (182) 298 (280) 56 (54) 541 (516) Institutions outside County I (I) 2 (I) — — 3 (2) Special Institutions 15 (12) 24 (29) 3 (6) 42 (47) Mental Hospitals 318 (312) 447 (454) — — 765 (766) Outdoor Medical Relief 109 (131) 255 (329) 31 (22) 395 (482) The figures in brackets indicate the numbers on the same date in the previous year. (v) MENTAL DEFICIENCY. County Institutions. Although the number of cases in county institutions, viz., 329, shows a slight increase, the position remains more or less unchanged until additional accommodation is provided. Non-County Institutions. Seventy cases remain in non-county institutions- It is now practically impossible to obtain vacancies for any type of case in outside institutions, and there is a long waiting period even for urgent cases. Fourteen deaths occurred during the year among the certified patients, and six patients were discharged from their orders of detention. The following table shows the number of cases on the register on 31st December, 1945 In certified institutions... MALE .. 178 FEMALE 226 TOTAL 404 On licence from institutions .. 24 35 59 Under Guardianship Orders .. 30 41 71 Under Statutory Supervision .. 155 112 267 Under Voluntary Supervision .. 82 67 149 Under Super'dsion on behalf of the Education Committee. .. 44 30 74 Children in Special Schools 7 5 12 Public -Assistance cases in receipt of Indoor Relief 7 10 17 Public Assistance cases in receipt of Outdoor Relief 11 17 28 In County Mental Hospitals .. 45 33 78 Reported from reliable sources but no action yet taken .. 19 14 33